A known method of forming clips or assemblies of nails for pneumatic or manual nailers is as follows. Nails are stamped out of approximately 2.2-inch wide by 0.061-inch thick C1008 steel which is provided in 800 to 900-pound coils. This size coil provides sufficient material for about 200,000 nails. Other coil dimensions and other materials may be used. The nails are formed in a 30-ton press or equivalent using 10 progression dies or equivalent. The nails are formed head to toe. For instance, the head of the first nail is on the right-hand edge of the strip, while the head of the second nail is on the left-hand edge. Although the strip is nominally 0.061-inches thick, it can still be within thickness specification if it is slightly wedge-shaped, with the thickness of the right-hand edge differing from that of the left-hand edge by as much as 0.0005-inches. The nail is approximately symmetric in two ways about its longitudinal axis. This axis is a line of symmetry or the center line of the material. Facing this center line from the side of the nail, the nail appears substantially rectangular with 0.0305-inches of material, nominally on either side of the center line. Facing the center line from the broad face of the nail, the nail has a press-formed head above a tapering body. The body of the nail is trapezoidal with the side of the trapezoid remote from the head almost forming a point. There is a region of serration over a portion of the nail to enhance the fastening function. The serration is directionally shaped to impede the extraction of a nail after being driven. The nails are approximately 2-inches long with approximately a 0.25-inch head.
After forming, the first nail moves down through a bolster and enters a carrier on the right, the second nail moves through a corresponding bolster and enters a carrier on the left. The motion is not smooth. The nails move in 0.061-inch increments, driven by the pressure of the press at more than 500 increments per minute. The objective of the operation is to form and ship a clip having approximately 100 nails ready for insertion into an impact-fired pneumatic or manual nailer. To form the clip, adhesive is applied by wiping along both sides of the nails as they are moved in the 0.061-inch increments. Ideally, the clip is continuous. However, the currently used method is far from ideal. The vibration, tolerances and the variable properties of the adhesive combine to cause quality control problems. Due to vibration, sometimes a clip will break, leaving a smaller clips containing fewer nails. The viscosity of the adhesive varies with atmospheric conditions causing the amount of adhesive material applied to vary unacceptably. If excessive adhesive is applied, clips sometimes stick together in the shipping carton. Worse, a clip with excessive adhesive can jam the user's nailer. If insufficient adhesive is used, clips will break into pieces resulting in scrap. In the presently used method, the manufacturing operators are required to visually inspect work-in-process. If the adhesive is too heavy, the operator reports the condition to the upstream facility and an adjustment is made. The clip is not guaranteed to be robustly formed. To meet specification, the bow (curve) in the clip must be less than about 0.015-inches. The packing operators are required to gage the clips for bow and to square them before packing. This is labor intensive and, therefore, expensive. If the operator judges that a clip is not sufficiently square, the operator places that clip in an air-driven press to square it. Due to tolerances, right and left-hand nails are sufficiently different in the process that they must be kept segregated through the formation of clips. In addition, the curing adhesive results in toxic fumes requiring ventilation. The adhesive used is flammable and presents a fire hazard. Due to these problems, the known method currently in use is unsatisfactory in both yield and expense. Moreover, the method creates environmental hazards and safety problems for the production workers.